The Flat Hat February 18 2020

Vol. 109, Iss. 25 | Tuesday, February 18, 2020

The Flat Hat

CAMPUS

Student athlete arrested, released on $10,000 bail

Football player faces charges

The Weekly Student Newspaper

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Coronavirus complicates student travel plans, causes academic adjustments

Students discouraged from traveling to China adjust previously scheduled trips

ALEXANDRA BYRNE FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER

ETHAN BROWN // FLAT HAT MANAGING EDITOR

See ARREST page 4

VP FOR FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION SAM JONES TO RETIRE JUNE 2020 In an email sent to the College of William and Mary community Feb. 17, College President Katherine Rowe announced the forthcoming retirement of Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration Sam Jones ’75, M.B.A. ’80. Jones worked as a university staff member for over 30 years, serving under five different College presidents.

“I am humbled to have been able to work at William & Mary,” Jones said in a press release. “It is a rare opportunity that allowed me to spend my career at an institution for which I have such great affection and which gave me so much — my wife, my education, a wonderful community to raise a family, long-standing friendships, and the opportunity to work with students, faculty, staff, university leaders, donors and volunteers who share my passion and love for this university.”

Vice President for Finance and Technology Amy Sebring will oversee areas of the administration that Jones supervised, including emergency management, auxiliary services and public safety.

According to the email, Sebring will take on these priorities as Chief Operating Officer, a new administrative role designed to foster a more cohesive executive team. Sebring will also be responsible for managing the College’s finances.

“Four years ago, Amy Sebring was selected in a national search as Sam Jones’s eventual successor – with a view to the continuity that a gradual transition in this essential role would provide.” Rowe said in the email. “She has proved a trusted and effective leader, joining Sam as a full partner in the senior leadership team at William & Mary. I am delighted she has agreed to this expanded role. I have enormous confidence in her vision and leadership.”

- Flat Hat News Editor Leslie Davis

Jan. 25, just three days after the spring semester began, students, faculty and staff at the College of William and Mary received an informational health advisory email from Emergency Management Team Chair Sam Jones detailing COVID-19 and its ramifications for campus. In the past several weeks, the College has sent out three additional campus wide updates and instigated several precautionary measures against the virus, prompting students to alter their travel plans to China and other Asian destinations.

Since December 2019, the coronavirus has sparked concern throughout the international community.

Originating in Wuhan, a city in China’s central Hubei province, the disease has spread to all Chinese provinces as well as to other countries in Southeast Asia. According to World Health Organization reports released Feb. 12, an estimated 60,000 coronavirus cases are either confirmed or suspected throughout China with an additional 28 countries The College facing at notified Iskandar least one about the confirmed heightened CDC case. alert level, stating WHO data she would need indicate that to appeal if she the United wanted to travel.

States had 13 confirmed cases of the coronavirus by Feb. 12. Of those confirmed cases, 11 patients have travel history of visiting China, potentially illustrating the virus’s journey across the Pacific Ocean from Asia to North America. As of Feb. 18, Virginia does not have any reported and confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

However, the College is taking precautionary steps to promote campus health in the weeks preceding spring break, when many students are anticipated to travel home or to alternative destinations.

According to the third update email that Jones sent to community members Feb. 14, the College has banned all university-sponsored undergraduate travel to China and has imposed a mandatory r e v i e w process for Iskandar notified all universitythe school that sponsored she would not be faculty, staff studying abroad and graduate and her restudent travel. enrollment process T h e s e began. decisions accompany the College’s recommendation that students exercise caution if they choose to travel over spring break, especially if it entails visiting countries with confirmed coronavirus cases.

“Spring Break begins March 7,” Jones said in an email. “As you begin to look toward your plans for that period, we encourage you to follow the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization and the State Department if you are planning to travel outside the country.”

Beyond spring break, uncertainty surrounding the outbreak’s severity and duration is impeding summer break plans as well. Some Chinese and international students at the College are unsure of whether traveling to China will disqualify them from reentering the country given the s i t u a t i o n ’s volatility.

The College Xiangyi sent the third Fang ’21 has follow-up email struggled to update to decide her students, staff travel plans and faculty. during the ongoing

SCHOOL COMMUNICATIONS, RESPONSES JAN. 25

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JAN. 31 GRAPHIC BY CARMEN HONKER / THE FLAT HAT

A football player for the College of William and Mary was arrested Feb. 8 on one felony count of breaking and entering and one misdemeanor count of sexual battery, according to John Heilman of the Williamsburg Police Department.

According to the initial investigation, George Eberle ’22 broke into a woman’s home on Matoaka Court, just beyond campus grounds, before sexually assaulting her. Both Eberle and the young woman who reported the assault are students at the College, though the two did not know each other. Police were called to the scene at approximately 2:45 a.m. and they reported no injury or property damage.

The next morning, around 9 a.m., Eberle was located and arrested by Williamsburg Police and transported to the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail. He was released on $10,000 bail Monday, Feb. 10.

“This is a criminal investigative file and any further dissemination of information could harm the prosecution’s case,” Heilman said.

Eberle’s terms of bail and current residence are unclear. Currently Eberle remains on the College’s football roster as the team moves into spring practices.

Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations and Strategic Communications Peter Clawson explained the College’s position regarding the arrest.

“Certainly, William & Mary takes the charge of any crime seriously,” Clawson said via email. “The safety of our community and the well-being of its members are among the university’s top priorities.

Any student charged with a serious crime may also face campus disciplinary action where sanctions could range from warning to dismissal.”

Clawson did not make an official statement on whether or not Eberle will practice with the team for the spring semester. Furthermore, he did not outline any additional measures the athletic department plans to take in regard to working with student athletes to educate and prevent sexual misconduct. He did, however,

FEB. 14

Protestors act without evident intentions

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outbreak. While she is from Guangzhou — a Chinese city hundreds of miles away from Wuhan — Fang is reluctant to travel back to her home in China at the end of the spring semester, partially because of her concern that the United States will impose even more stringent travel restrictions on individuals visiting the country.

“I was planning to go back in May The College and return by sent the first June for summer informational session, but now health advisory I’m worried that email and I might not be contacted Iskandar allowed to enter to check on her the States by the travel plans. time I come back,” Fang said in a written statement.

“I’ll see how the situation goes and then decide whether to book a flight.”

Other students pursuing study abroad programs in China have similarly had to adjust their plans in response to the virus. Rowan McDowell ’21 intended to spend a full academic year in Chengdu, China as part of his specific program, and while he successfully completed his fall semester a few months ago, he is now unable to go back to China and complete the program’s spring portion because of the College’s official policies regarding student travel to the country.

McDowell is currently biding his time in South Korea as he waits for his program in Chengdu to reopen, but he anticipates that his return to China will be indefinitely delayed. While South Korea has experienced fewer concentrated coronavirus outbreaks in recent weeks, McDowell is still exercising The College caution to sent a follow-up preserve his email update to health during his students, staff and time in Asia. faculty.

“I wear a facemask outdoors now, and pay extra attention to washing hands and sanitation,” McDowell said in a written statement. “It is just a precaution however, what’s really makes a difference is not living in the quarantined province or having any infected family members.”

Jenna Iskandar ’21 planned to spend February through May in Harbin, China as part of a thirdparty study abroad program but had to revise her plans significantly following the outbreak. She first became aware of the coronavirus’s ramifications for her study abroad experience when her third-party program provider contacted her and advised her about longer wait times for visas and administrative approvals related to the virus.

Once WHO and the Centers for Disease Control published reports about the spread of the coronavirus in mid-January, Iskandar received word from the The College College asking sent the second her about her follow-up email intended plans update to now that her students, staff program had and faculty. been temporarily discontinued.

“After CDC issued their highest-level warning, that was when William and Mary reached out, the program reached out, and basically all the programs were getting cancelled at that point,” Iskandar said.

Iskandar was offered alternative third-party postings through her study abroad provider in Taiwan and Thailand, but she chose to return to Williamsburg about halfway through the second week of classes.

Despite her delayed arrival on campus, Iskandar said she was pleased with how administration and faculty handled her situation, especially when it came to organizing her academic plans without the time she’d See CORONAVIRUS page 3

Inside Variety

Inside Opinions

Index Profile News Opinions Variety

Sports

of The College of William and Mary

Lucas Harsche ’23 says that the recent protests against College Chancellor Robert Gates lacked any clear purpose. page 6

Exploring the pasta-bilities

A new twist on a classic Italian dish: bean-based spaghetti creates exciting culinary frontiers. page 8

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News Editor Charles Coleman News Editor Leslie Davis News Editor Emma Ford fhnews@gmail.com

The Flat Hat | Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020 | Page 2

THE BUZZ

I think the future is one where China is going to play an increasingly significant role, geopolitically, economically and just about every other way you can imagine, so the first big story of this century really is China.

— Advanced International Studies Professor Daniel Markey

THIS WEEK IN FLAT HAT HISTORY February 19, 1971 - News The General Assembly scheduled a hearing investigating The Flat Hat for obscenity, accusing the paper of contributing to concerns of the College of William and Mary’s “deteriorating moral climate.” These actions were prompted by administration and faculty complaints regarding use of explicit and supposedly inappropriate language in one of the previous week’s front-page headlines discussing a Senate meeting.

February 22, 1991 - News Athletic Director John Randolph reinstated four varsity sports that were scheduled to be cut from the College’s athletic program — namely women’s basketball, wrestling and men’s and women’s swimming. After an outpouring of complaints from the College community, an anonymous donation to the athletic program alleviated budgetary constraints.

February 18, 2000 - News The Republican Presidential Candidate, Alan Keyes, was scheduled to present at the College. He was kicking off a series involving four conservative political figures.

February 19, 2010 - Sports William and Mary Men’s Basketball team recovered from a 19 point loss at Old Dominion University by defeating George Mason University. The Tribe had its fourth straight win by winning against George Mason, the conference’s front runner, 63-60.

HISTORY BY KARINA VIZZONI AND SARAH GREENBERG / FLAT HAT NEWS ASSOC. EDITORS

A THOUSAND WORDS COURTESY PHOTO / CALEB ROGERS

Sept. 19, 2019, Rogers was sworn into the Planning Commission for the City of Williamsburg, which meets once a month for work sessions

Campaigning to help homeless

Caleb Rogers ’20 runs for Williamsburg City Council, aims to diversify local economy GEORGIA THOMS // FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER

COURTESY PHOTO / ELLIE RANSOM

CORRECTIONS The Flat Hat wishes to correct any fact printed incorrectly.

Corrections may be submitted in email to the editor of the section in which the incorrect information was printed. Requests for corrections will be accepted at any time.

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Most College seniors are neck-deep in job applications or graduate school decisions, but for Caleb Rogers ’20, his freetime is filled with campaigning. Rogers, a College of William and Mary public policy major and a history minor, is currently running for a position on the Williamsburg City Council, leaving him quite busy this spring semester.

“I am someone who enjoys learning extracurricularly, so I enjoyed my classes and my public policy major, but one of the fun things is finding ways to learn outside of it as well,” Rogers said. “I applied to the economic development internship to get more involved with the city, and spent the summer researching particular economic areas around the city and what can be improved upon.”

Rogers began his journey to run for City Council in his freshman year when he researched the homeless population of Williamsburg as a social issue for his public speaking course.

Rogers found that organizations like the House of Mercy and 3e Restoration cater to hundreds of people a month in the region. The issue of homelessness in Williamsburg is one of many issues Rogers includes in his campaign.

“We have a lot of ideas, and we condensed them into three watchwords: the opportunities for Williamsburg to

diversify their economy, the responsibilities Williamsburg should have to look after their undervalued community members, and there are the accountabilities of which Williamsburg should keep accountable,” Rogers said.

The first umbrella to Rogers’ campaign, opportunity, focuses on economic diversity in Williamsburg. He wants to find ways to encourage alumni to build careers in the city after graduation and educate others on the amount of job opportunities there are in the area.

“I wanted to create something that would encourage young students to have an internship here or have a job after graduation or for young professionals in the community to engage as well,” Rogers said. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be just William and Mary students. One of the things we are running on is the creation of a job fair that would be basically for the Virginia peninsula in Williamsburg for William and Mary students. This would be a good way to encourage people to stay here or have a job over the summer or start a career here after they graduate.”

Through community service endeavors on campus, Rogers was able to be a part of groups that focus on regional poverty and homelessness. This created his second key umbrella term: responsibility. Like his public speaking course, Rogers drew inspiration from his years at the College to shape his campaign.

“On the council, I want to create some kind of Virginia peninsula study group that would work with the other two localities to figure out what are the migratory patterns of the homeless population, and how do these people live, and where do they live, and ultimately what are resources we can end up providing them, which we are not yet doing,” Rogers said.

Rogers explains that it is difficult for the city, labeled as a place of tourism, to be frank about communities they should be addressing. He believes it is the duty of city counselors to address that. In addition to the study group, Rogers wants to model city plans after successful plans exhibited by the College.

“The creation of a climate action plan modeled after the great work William and Mary is doing right now with their own climate action plan is something the city will really benefit from,” Rogers said. “If COURTESY PHOTO / CALEB ROGERS the colonial capital can mark itself out as Rogers signs the Council’s Declaration of Candidacy an eco-friendly town, what other cities

and localities across Virginia and the country can?”

The last umbrella term, accountability, is especially important to Rogers. He believes there are two parts — being held accountable as a community and being held individually accountable.

An example of a group being held accountable in the community is the offcampus landlords.

“There are some wonderful landlords in the city, and there are some that are a bit more predatory,” Rogers said. “Some ways that they can become a resource for students is to check these groups rather than have them be a group that is seen just to make sure you don’t have four more people in your house.”

As an individual, Rogers explained that as a city council member he will do everything in his power to be in touch with the public, such as holding regular office hours, maintaining a website and providing contact information.

“The ultimate message of our campaign is not to immediately change a bunch of things in the city,” Rogers said. “What makes Williamsburg enticing is the quaint historic nature of the city, and we want to make sure to protect that while also addressing some things that should change. As a student in a city in which the population is 60 percent students, I think it is important to have that younger voice on council as being nearer to the community.”

In the end, Rogers is enthusiastic about running for office and is thankful for his time at the College.

“William and Mary promotes civic engagement over everything else, and I feel the empathetic spirit of the students really shining through, and that has my heart strings, you might say,” Rogers said.

Additionally, Rogers emphasizes the importance of exercising the gifts students at the College haves to not only to vote, but also to make a larger impact in the community.

“We as William and Mary students, despite the very heavy workload, are honestly given a great fortune by coming here and because of that great fortune, should then use it and the resources we are given toward helping communities that might not have those resources themselves,” Rogers said. “There are a plethora of ways to help and it starts with researching and engaging with the community. Be curious, but also realize that you have a debt to pay.”

Page 3

The Flat Hat

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

COMMUNITY

Brickhouse's dress code sparks student criticism Community calls local restaurant's clothing restrictions racially targeted

AVERILL MEININGER FLAT HAT CHIEF STAFF WRITER

In mid-December 2019, local bar and restaurant Brickhouse Tavern posted a “Late Night Dress Code” outside their front entrance. Some students quickly took notice and the dress code became a debated topic on the popular Facebook group used by College students and alumni, "Swampy Memes for Twampy Teens."

The dress code was implemented for bar-goers arriving Friday or Saturday after 10 p.m. Included in the list of items no longer allowed were “do-rags or head bands,” “sagging pants,” “excessively baggy clothing” and “knit hats or beenies.” One Facebook post about the dress code amassed over 80 student comments and spurred conversation with multiple group members, citing it at “racially charged” and “blatant racism.”

When asked to comment, Brickhouse said via Facebook that the code was not new to their establishment and was instituted for safety purposes as well as to meet Virginia ABC standards.

“The dress code is not anything new or resent… it’s been in place for about 4 years, we have instituted, in the past, apparel requirements for late hours only because we have wanted to maintain a certain level of decorum and dress standards,” Brickhouse Tavern said in a written statement. “In addition, our standards have helped us to address legitimate safety concerns and to meet ABC regulations. Furthermore, the dress code is only active during our peak hours Friday and Saturday night 10 pm – close. There is no dress code any other days of the week.”

Natasha Chambers ’21, an employee at Brickhouse mentioned that the dress code is meant to tackle safety concerns.

“A lot of the items on the dress code are actually meant to prevent theft, assault, things that cover your face or head.” Chambers said. “It’s because we have cameras, that need to be able to see your face so that we can

identify people to the police.”

In addition to understanding why the dress code felt necessary to Brickhouse, Chambers understand her peers’ concerns. Furthermore, she shared how she believed items may have been chosen for the dress code.

“Other items are kind of, blatantly targeting,” Chambers said. “The story that I was told is that there was a group of regulars back when Brickhouse first opened who got very mean, attacking the servers and they just made that list based on what the group always wore.”.

When asked if this policy was explicitly racist in intent, Chambers recognized that changes to the dress code’s wording should be made.

“They should change it,” Chambers said. “I would make it more general, so nothing that covers your face and nothing that’s super revealing because we are a family restaurant.”

Following the initial Facebook post about the dress code, another student, Joe Barnes ’20, created an event titled, “Everyone Storm Brickhouse Wearing Beanies They Can’t Stop Us All.” The event name was meant to play off of “Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us,” which is a Facebook event that garnered national attention in September and became a fairly well-known meme.

Barnes said his event was purely comedic. Regardless, it was relevant to what was unfolding with Brickhouse and became another highly popular post in the group.

When asked how he felt about the dress code, Barnes kept it simple.

“It’s not good,” Barnes said. “I think anyone looking at that would probably see that it’s targeting a population. “I can’t determine intent.

But intent doesn’t really matter if the end result is that you’re excluding certain people.”

The senior went on to consider that as a bar, safety concerns are unlikely to be alleviated by a dress code..

“If their goal is a safe environment – you’re a bar that’s open late in a town with four bars, I don’t know how much you can do,” Barnes said.

“Rewording would just be more ambiguously doing the same thing.”

Brickhouse also has two other locations, one in Newport News, VA, near Christopher Newport University and another in Harrisonburg, VA, close to James Madison University. The Brickhouse in Newport News has also implemented a dress code.

“The only thing that we don’t allow is wife-beaters and durags,” Tara Hix said about the Newport News location. The majority of bars don’t allow it, so it is kind of common knowledge and I believe it is posted on our website.”

The Harrisonburg Brickhouse was reluctant to comment on their dress code and recommended speaking with the owners of the Williamsburg Brickhouse Tavern.

Alumna Srijoni Sengupta '18 warned against jumping to conclusions about the policy and she shared her disappointment with the exclusion inherent in its wording.

"I don't want to outright claim anything, I don't want to go to any extreme and say Brickhouse Tavern is being racist for implementing no durags," Sengupta said. "There might be multiple reasons why. There's always different perspectives behind things so that it's not good to just label someone off the bat based off of the little information that you do know, but in my opinion as a customer they're restricting people, potential customers that could come to your business."

Brickhouse stands by the implementation of a dress code for safety reasons. Barnes and Sengupta, alongside other members in the Facebook group, have made their position clear that the dress code should change.

"Considering the historical context of Virginia and how the state itself has battled racism and systemic oppression - all that dress code does is just add to the fire," Sengupta said.

CAMPUS

Geographer addresses global climate issues, data analytics State Department employee discusses importance of geography in modern politics RILEY BUSBEE THE FLAT HAT

Friday, Feb. 14, Deputy Director of the Office of the Geographer and Global Issues at the U.S. State Department Carter Christopher spoke to students and faculty about his life as a self-proclaimed 21stcentury geographer, and highlighted the changes he believes the world is going to see incredibly soon based on existing geospatial data.

Though Christopher is currently working at the State Department, he is also an employee at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

The Office of the Geographer and Global Issues is within the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, which supports all geographical needs throughout the State Department. Christopher discussed three major ways that his office supports the rest of the State Department, primarily through the creation of maps, work on borders and utilization of Opendata.

“Everything the State Department does, in my view because I’m a Geo person, is geospatial,” Christopher said.

Christopher and his colleagues provide maps for any diplomatic needs of the United States Foreign Service that arise, ranging from tasks for lowerlevel dignitaries to the Secretary of State. Along with their work on maps, Christopher elaborated that the Office of the Geographer and Global Issues serves as the federal government’s expert agency on borders, analysis and understanding within the government. These employees work to support policymakers by providing the best information they have on boundaries and what international conflicts may arise from current and changing boundaries. Christopher said that his office’s work on boundaries has been increasingly more topical as the world deals with issues such as increased migration and the current spread of the coronavirus.

The Office of the Geographer and Global Issues

also works through Opendata, where they use publicly available data to find information they may not have been able to find without the increased spread of knowledge on this data.

“Data drives decision making,” Christopher said.

Christopher continued on from his look into his office’s role to looking at his role as a 21st-century geographer. He highlighted that there is no singular definition of geography throughout academic or professional literature. Christopher explained that how we understand geography on earth can be broken into five disruptors: climate change, human movement and urbanization, societal technologies, data and analytics and geospatial technologies.

Christopher went on to highlight that climate is one of many ways in which we categorize cities but climate change is changing the existing climate regimes. Christopher went on to further predict that 150 million people are in areas that will experience permanent land loss, which is four times more than previous predictions.

“Where people are today is not where people are going to be tomorrow,” Christopher said.

Christopher went on to explain how migration defines our actions as humans. With the decreased ability to move physically because of climate change and the increased movement through technology, our physical world will likely look very different in the coming years. Along with our changing understanding of knowledge, the ability to collect data has grown to unprecedented proportions.

Christopher explained how all of technology is now collecting data, and we could not stop it even if we wanted to.

Christopher finished the talk by discussing how the international community is changing from a discrete understanding of the world to a continuous one, where people are constantly receiving data and information and needing to decide how to

Coronavirus restricts student travel, limits study-abroad arrangements Coronavirus spread inhibits students' travel to China CORONAVIRUS from page 1

planned to spend in China.

“I was actually very satisfied with how quickly everything was handled,” Iskandar said. “...

Re-registering for classes was a week late, and I had to do it on the last couple days of adddrop, but professors were good about letting me in. … I really appreciated that.”

Nick Vasquez, the College’s international travel and security manager, indicated that the College is still in the ongoing process of reviewing study abroad and internship opportunities in Asia that occur beyond the spring semester.

The College’s several summer program offerings in China and elsewhere in the region

are currently under review and will be evaluated again by administration later this month.

“The Freeman Fellowships place students in internship opportunities all over Asia and the Reves Center has asked the Charles Center to relocate their internships out of China this summer,” Vasquez said. “The Reves Center also runs a summer study abroad program in Beijing and they will be evaluating travel in late February.”

Some American news outlets, including The New York Times, have published articles describing increased public scrutiny towards Asian Americans who are perceived as being sick or contagious because of the outbreak’s concentration in Asian countries. When

reached for comment about any discrimination against Chinese or international students on campus, a representative from the College’s Chinese Student Organization said that no discriminatory behavior has been reported to their knowledge.

In his Feb. 14 update, Jones urged students to treat all students with kindness and compassion during the outbreak regardless of background and national origin.

“As we each address any concerns we may have about this virus, we should all keep in mind our university values of being a caring, supportive and respectful community and maintain an inclusive, welcoming and caring space for all our members,” Jones said.

use it. We are also changing from a chronological to a systematic change in geography that forces humans to combine physical geography, biological geography and human geography to better understand the data we have while still blending location into all of these data sets.

“We have the ability to bring data from all of these fields together and sew them together like space and time by location and make sense of the world and that is what the 21st-century geographer is going to do,” Christopher said.

The crowd at the lecture was filled with a variety of students and staff inside and outside of the geography field. Among those in the crowd was

Audrey Thronson ’23 and Bryce Liquerman ’23, who both explained that they learned a lot about a topic of which they were not initially aware.

“I am not someone who has looked at geography,” Thronson said. “I didn’t even realize there was a whole area of that at the State Department and how important it was.”

Liquerman was equally impressed by the variety of topics covered in the lecture and how these topics reach outside of the sphere of a typical geographer.

“I liked how he went into different moral issues surrounding the field and other discussions you would not think of approaching as a geographer,” Liquerman said.

Page 4

The Flat Hat

Tuesday, Februrary 18, 2020

CAMPUS

Talk evaluates China’s expanding influence Alexander Hamilton Society hosts discussion around evolving geopolitics Thursday, Feb. 13, the Alexander Hamilton Society at the College of William and Mary hosted a discussion in McGlothlin-Street Hall entitled “China’s Western Horizon: Geopolitical Consequences and China’s BRI” with associate professor of government Rani Mullen serving as moderator with guest Proffesor Daniel Markey of Johns Hopkins University.

The discussion centered around the topic of China’s relationship with its western and southern neighbors. Themes of the discussion included the effect of China’s rising power on Indo-Pakistani relations, China’s influence on the post-Soviet republics of Central Asia and the state of China’s restive Xinjiang province.

Markey is a senior research professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and served as senior fellow for India, Pakistan and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations from 2007 to 2015. Prior to his time on the Council, Markey served in the State Department on the Secretary’s Policy Planning Staff, holding the South Asia portfolio. His latest book, “China’s Western Horizon: Beijing and the New Geopolitics of Eurasia,” will be published in March 2020.

Markey said the motivations for his recent research have been the continued expansion of China’s international profile as well as the lack of attention given to China’s influence outside of East Asia.

“I think the future is one where China is going to play an increasingly significant role, geopolitically, economically, in just about every other way you can imagine, so the first big story of this century really is China,” Markey said. “Then the question is, ‘What are the various ways that China is likely to matter?’ A lot of these ways have gotten an enormous amount of attention already over the years … One of the areas that I think gets the least amount of attention what I call China’s western horizon, that is, China’s role in places like South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. My book is partly meant as a corrective to get us to begin to think about China’s role in those three places in ways that I think many Americans just aren’t used to doing.”

Markey explained that the Belt and Road Initiative is one of the largest and

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In both cases, in domestic political economy and regional geopolitics, I see China’s involvement in some ways as destabilizing, making problems that existed there already somewhat worse.

— Daniel Markey

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PHILLIP SCHUELER FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER

most publicized of China’s new policy objectives in the twenty-first century.

“The Belt and Road Initiative is an important touchstone for all of us who are trying to understand, ‘What does China want?’ … At the core of the BRI, first known as One Belt One Road, is a set of grand, principally infrastructure investment initiatives overseas, throughout much of the world, kicked off in 2013 by President Xi of China to much fanfare,” Markey said. “When China builds these types of things or invests in them in other countries, it is forging connections with countries around the world and sometimes forging ties

and influence and access that it didn’t have before.”

Markey further argued that China’s foreign investment and influence, including the BRI. and other projects, may produce outcomes across South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East that destabilize the balance of power between states in those regions as well as domestic political and societal forces in those states.

“In both cases, in domestic political economy and regional geopolitics, I see China’s involvement in some ways as destabilizing, making problems that existed there already somewhat worse,” Markey said. “From the U.S. perspective this is very troubling, and even from a Chinese perspective, I would say, this is kind of troubling … I don’t think China is trying to destabilize South Asia, but, unfortunately, its activities may counterproductively bring that very thing about.”

Xufeng Liu ’22 attended the talk and said he was interested in the discussion after seeing the effects of China’s BRI policy first-hand.

“The main reason I came to the discussion is that I am currently working as a research assistant for TDF team at AidData, where I need to code financial aid projects from China, including the BRI-related projects,” Liu said. “The most impressive part is when the author pointed out the different impacts on different social groups within a country due to Chinese investments. It arouses the thinking about who are the losers and winners of these aids, which is usually ignored by the current researchers.”

Audrey Thronson ’23 also attended the discussion and said she thought the most interesting aspect of the BRI. was the different reactions of China’s potential and current partners towards Chinese investment.

“I liked the Q and A, I liked how it got a lot more specific and we could hear some of the details about the anti-Chinese sentiment in Kazakhstan,” Thronson said. “I thought that was something that not a lot of people would know about and was a really specific thing about that part of the world.”

Bryce Liquerman ’23 said he enjoyed the discussion and that it provided him with new insight into the Chinese strategic mindset.

“I enjoyed when the speaker responded to the question regarding whether it was a good or bad idea for China’s project; it gave me good insight into their point of view and the thought process that was going into it,” Liquerman said.

STUDENT ASSEMBLY

Student Assembly commemorates Graduate School Inclusion

Senators implement improvements to sustainability act, introduce revised Media Council negotiations KIMBERELY LORES FLAT HAT NEWS ASSOC. EDITOR

Tuesday, Feb. 11, the College of William and Mary’s 327th Student Assembly met in the Alan B. Miller Hall at the Raymond A. Mason School of Business as part of SA’s ongoing Graduate School Inclusion Month initiative. During the meeting, senators listened to two presentations, introduced two new bills and passed two bills concerning a sustainability commitment and the creation of a reparations committee respectively.

The meeting began with a presentation from M.B.A. Association President Brittany Rakestraw, who welcomed SA to the Business School. Rakestraw outlined the association’s purpose of reaching out to business graduate students, as well as hosting social and networking events for these students.

Next, Graduate Council President Erin Schwartz spoke to senators about the history of the Graduate Council as well as its plans.

Specifically, Schwartz highlighted the Council’s membership, consisting of two representatives from each graduate school and an executive team. According to Schwartz, these members work together to advance Council’s historical role of advocating on behalf of and hosting social events for graduate students.

Senators then began discussion of the White Papers, the first drafts of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee’s new strategic plan for the College. The Senate reviewed the plans from the Teaching and Learning Subcommittee, the Research and Innovation Subcommittee and the Flourishing and Engagement Subcommittee. Some graduate school senators raised concerns that the drafts were too heavily focused on the undergraduate experience at the College and claimed they did not give enough attention to graduate students. However, some senators also appreciated the specific focus on mental wellness originating from the Flourishing and Engagement Subcommittee.

“I will say I like that they finally address in written form that wellness is an issue both externally and internally,” Sen. Derek Kernus ’14 M.B.A. ’20 said.

“There have been times that I believe that certain people in the administration, people high in the administration, don’t really want to accept that students need to be well both physically and mentally to do well at the College. And it’s nice to see that they’re acknowledging that, but I will also say that I hope they actually follow through with that, because I’m still a little weary personally.”

Senators then turned to their new business for the week, which included the introduction of the

Publication Protections Act, a reiteration of an earlier act which called for changes in the way that SA conducts negotiations with the Media Council. Some of these changes included negotiating the Media Council contract every three years, mandating that SA representatives to the council be elected by the Senate, and allowing for-credit Media Council organizations to receive yearly block grants, which will be adjusted each year according to the overall Media Council contract.

Sen. Kyle Vasquez ’21 and Secretary of College Policy and Student Rights Amanda Yannett ’20 then introduced the Pride in ID Appearance Act, which calls for the establishment of a fund that would cover the fee of changing the student picture on the Tribe Cards for those students who undergo significant changes in their appearances. These significant changes could apply to transgender or gender nonconforming students, but the bill is open more widely to students who experience any serious changes in their physical appearance. The act would specifically prevent students from using this fund for more cosmetic changes, such as haircuts or spray tans. The bill requests an initial $100 in funding. Yannett said that she administered a survey of the student body, to which 100 students responded that this fund would be useful, and 20 of those respondents said that they

would use this fund themselves.

“It was brought to my attention that students have been covering their student IDs with paper or crossing out their picture on their student ID because it doesn’t accurately represent their physical experience, specifically with trans students,” Yannett said.

Also at the meeting, senators passed the Sustainability Climate Action Resolution, sponsored by Sen. Joshua Panganiban ’20, after making some minor changes to the bill from last week. The resolution calls for a student-led sustainability initiative in conjunction with the administration’s goal of carbon neutrality by the year 2030.

Additionally, the senate passed the Ad-Hoc Reparations Committee Act, which would create a semester-long SA committee with the purpose of researching potential reparations for the College’s historical relationship with slavery.

Before the act’s passage, senators discussed about which SA members would end up serving on this committee, as some felt it was unreasonable to ask that each graduate school be represented as the School of Education, for example, has only one senator. Sen. Will Wasson J.D. ’21 ultimately compromised by editing the bill so that committee members could attend committee meetings at their convenience.

College football player faces charges for sexual assault, breaking, entering Administration, athletics department refrain from providing statements regarding Eberle’s future student position ARREST from page 1

emphasize the current practices of the athletic department provides to incoming freshman athletes.

“Beyond the required programming that the university provides all incoming freshmen on sexual assault prevention and alcohol abuse education, Athletics requires all freshman student-athletes to attend three additional educational sessions that cover Drug and Alcohol awareness, Healthy Relationships and general Student Conduct,” Clawson said.

Clawson said that the athletic department would not comment on specific disciplinary measures. The coaching staff declined to comment independently.

College spokesperson Suzanne Clavet indicated that the College is cooperating with authorities, but also declined to comment on disciplinary measures due to privacy laws and college policy.

According to the Student Sexual Harassment and Misconduct Grievance/ Complaint Procedure within the College, interim measures such as interim suspension can be taken before a student faces an investigation. It is unclear whether the College has chosen to take this measure in regard to Eberle.

The College’s Chief Compliance Officer and Title IX Coordinator Pamela Manson explained the policies and procedures implemented throughout campus.

“The safety of our community and the

well-being of each student are among the university’s top priorities,” Manson said.

“We want every member of the campus community to be able to learn or work in an environment in which they can feel and be safe. Our policies and procedures related to student conduct are centered on providing the resources and support any of our students need along with due process and evidenced-based findings for all involved.”

Student Assembly President Kelsey Vita ‘20 emphasized the importance of ensuring student safety and respecting the wishes of students who have experienced some form of sexual assault or harassment.

“During events that may alarm and traumatize the student body, the Student Assembly’s first priority is always student wellness and safety,” Vita said. “While we can take this as an opportunity to discuss how to combat sexual violence on campus, we must also respect the survivor’s decisions on how they wish to proceed with this case. Sexual violence is always wrong and never the fault of the survivor. We are reminded that we must always listen, uplift, and believe survivors — both during our time at William & Mary and in our daily lives once we leave the university.”

Secretary of College Policy and Student Rights Amanda Yannett ’20 commented on SA’s recent progress on improving the College’s response to issues of sexual violence. More specifically, she highlighted amendments to the College’s Title IX policy to include other forms of

abuse beyond physical and sexual as well as the development and expansion of the “Let’s Get Consensual” campaign.

Furthermore, SA has helped to create a Title IX FAQ webpage and materials for student organizations dealing with a perpetrator.

“Sexual violence prevention, education and support has been a top concern among W&M students and for this year’s Student

Assembly,” Yannett said. “These kinds of stories can be triggering for survivors and the immediate response of SA is focusing on highlighting the support and resources available to our students.”

If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence and is a student at the College The Haven offers a safe, confidential, and inclusive space for

FEELIN’

support and empowerment. The Haven is located in Campus Center Room 166 and can be contacted via email (thehaven@ wm.edu) or by phone (757-221-2449). For off-campus support, the Avalon Center provides 24-hour support through its crisis helpline at 757-258-5015.

This article updates the news brief in the Feb. 11, 2020 issue.

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opinions GUEST COLUMN

Students, administration neglect significance of College’s Charter Day freshmen or seniors.

This poses a serious challenge for the school, where students FLAT HAT GUEST WRITER only feel compelled to attend events when it is their first opportunity or last chance.

Once a year in early February, every student at the College In addition to the Charter Day Ceremony itself, the College of William and Mary gets the chance to celebrate their school. also hosted a variety of supporting events throughout Charter The only problem is that most choose not to. As the second Day Weekend. The range of events provided something for oldest university in the nation, the College takes pride in its everyone, especially if they were unable history. However, on this year’s Charter Day, the 327th birthday to attend the ceremony. However, of the College, a time when students, faculty and alumni alike some of these events were also poorly should have been enthusiastically celebrating the continuing attended. On the evening before legacy of the College, the students were unfortunately absent.

Charter Day, the College hosted Granted, this year’s Charter Day Ceremony was a discussion on foreign policy not exactly a rave, but it was still an engaging and between Gates, a former Director satisfying event of which every student should have of the CIA and Secretary of taken full advantage. Attendees heard from a variety Defense, and Virginia Senator of speakers, from College President Katherine Tim Kaine. Despite the Rowe and College Chancellor Robert Gates to unique opportunity the student speaker Tanner Braman ‘20 and three discussion presented distinguished honorary diploma recipients. and the quality The most moving moment of the afternoon of the two guests, came from Christy Coleman, the first Commonwealth honorary diploma recipient and the Auditorium was nowhere Executive Director near capacity and at of the Jamestowntimes it seemed as though Yorktown more students were outside Foundation. protesting Gates’ presence Coleman reflected than were inside listening to on her two years at the discussion. the College in an Diverging from the more emotional speech somber events, the school also as she detailed her hosted a selection of opportunities withdrawal from designed specifically for students the school and how that were much more well received. she never imagined she AMP hosted comedian Jaboukie Youngwould be back to receive White to a packed house in the same a degree.

Commonwealth Auditorium that Gates Each of the honorary and Kaine could not fill, and the #Charnival diploma recipients received that Rowe promoted in her speech was also a standing ovation from the at full capacity, despite being moved into audience, and those that the Commons Dining Hall due to the all too were in the room seemed coincidental “gale” warnings which likely quite pleased with the lowered attendance. ceremony, which also included It is unfortunate that students flock to performances from Griffin see comedic performances and get free food Bhangra, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, while events featuring prominent national the Choir and the Pep Band, leaders and celebrations of the school remain highlighting the diverse talent on underattended. However, it speaks to the low display at the College. marketing and importance that Charter Day It was perhaps the quality of received from the administration in comparison the ceremony itself that made it to events such as Homecoming Weekend and all the more disappointing that Family Weekend. the majority of those in attendance It is up to the administration to continue were not students. Even with heavy to innovate with regards to the Charter Day alumni presence, Kaplan Arena Ceremony to ensure that its long-standing was only at a fraction of its total attendance problems subside and Charter Day capacity. Of the students who remains relevant to the College. did participate, it appeared that Email Owen Williams at GRAPHIC BY ANGELA VASISHTA / THE FLAT HAT the vast majority were either orwilliams@email.wm.edu.

Owen Williams

INDEPENDENT GRAPHIC

Valentine’s Day perpetuates culture of romantic greed GRAPHIC BY KAYLA PAYNE / THE FLAT HAT

Opinions Editor Chloe Folmar fhopinions@gmail.com // @theflathat

The Flat Hat | February 18, 2020 | Page 5

GUEST COLUMN

Confucius Institute poses threat to College academics Jerry Hu

FLAT HAT GUEST WRITER

In 2019, U.S. Senators Rob Portman and Tom Carper published a bipartisan report that details the lack of transparency in how American colleges and universities manage Confucius Institutes, which are language and culture learning centers located on college campuses and receive funding from the Chinese government.

The College of William and Mary is no exception. The Confucius Institute at the College has been on campus since 2011, and the contract between the College and Hanban, affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Education, was renewed in 2016, according to the Confucius Institute’s official website.

The Confucius Institute at the College claims that its mission is to “promote the study of Chinese language and culture at William and Mary.” But, in reality, the Confucius Institute is partially funded by the Chinese government. As a result, the curricula and professors sent by the Confucius Institute have to be screened and vetted for Chinese government approval. The most recent contract between the College and Hanban, signed in 2016, stipulates that Hanban “provides course materials, teaching materials, and a set amount of annual funds according to needs.” This agreement raises questions about the propriety of hosting the Confucius Institute on campus.

China has one of the worst human rights records in the world. The Chinese government has put two million Muslims into concentration camps, killed thousands of innocent protesters during the Tiananmen Square Massacre and sent tens of thousands of human rights lawyers, Christians and followers of Falungong to jail. The Chinese government also maintains absolute control over media and education, so no dissident voice is tolerated in media and textbooks. Given a track record like this, we should have a legitimate fear that the Confucius Institute might try to censor ideas that they do not want to discuss in their curricula and textbooks.

In fact, Hanban, the headquarter of the Confucius Institute, explicitly forbids teaching and discussion of Dalai Lama, the Tiananmen Square massacre and other topics related to human rights in China.

Given a track record like this, we should have a legitimate fear that the Confucius Institute might try to censor ideas that thet do not want to discuss in their curricula and textbooks.

The Confucius Institute’s infiltration of the Chinese studies curriculum is even more alarming. A quick search on the College’s course list shows two upper-level courses in the department are taught by professors sent by the Confucius Institute this spring. Allowing the Confucius Institute to send professors to teach for-credit classes means the College has conceded academic control of the Chinese studies department to the Chinese government and undermined students’ ability to acquire knowledge about China and Chinese culture freely.

There is also evidence that the Confucius Institute has hosted events to brainwash students at the College and give a deceptive image of China. The Confucius Institute hosted the Sichuan Folk Cultures Gala in 2019. They invited ethnic Chinese performers to perform Tibetan polyphonic music to showcase China’s ethnic and cultural diversity. Not surprisingly, the Confucius Institute failed to mention that Tibetans are one of the most oppressed groups of people in China, and it is extremely hard for any Tibetans to obtain a passport for travel now. The Confucius Institute has worked hard to convince students at the College and faculty that China is a country that tolerates different cultures and ideas when China is one of the worst regimes in human history when it comes to ethnic cleansing and censorship.

Many universities have already cut ties with the Confucius Institute in the last few years, including Pennsylvania State University, Texas A&M, University of Illinois and the University of Chicago. While teaching Chinese language and culture is a commendable effort to increase global awareness and diversity on campus, partnering with the Confucius Institute is not the way to do it.

As a public liberal arts university, the College should prioritize independent intellectual inquiry and cut ties with the Confucius Institute, the propaganda arm of a repressive regime.

Email Jerry Hu at jhu01@email.wm.edu.

The Flat Hat

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

STAFF COLUMN

Page 6

STAFF COLUMN

Gates protestors act without evident intentions, reasoning behind protest proves unclear

Lucas Harsche THE FLAT HAT

Before I start, let me confirm one thing above all else: I am a live-free-or-die supporter of our inviolable right to peacefully protest. The unaffiliated group of students who assembled in the Sadler Center the evening of Thursday, Feb. 6, to protest College of William and Mary Chancellor Robert Gates’ appearance at the talk titled “Crucibles of Leadership: U.S. Foreign Policy Past, Present and Future” did so with grace and civility, and the harassment that they received from some of the members of the Williamsburg community is shameful and must be discouraged.

I must confess, however, that I struggle to see the purpose of this particular protest.

As the former secretary of defense under two presidential administrations during the latter half of the Iraq War, with a previous position during the early 1990s as the director of the CIA, Gates has had direct experience in the foreign policy of the United States, and as such, his inclusion in a discussion on the history of our country’s foreign policy was sure to provide a unique perspective to those in attendance.

However, it was this very experience which sparked the protests by a group of College students against Gates’ appearance at the discussion, with a particular focus on his involvement in the Iraq War as secretary of defense.

Flyers handed out during the protest accused Gates of war crimes such as “prosecuting a war of aggression” and “bombing civilian populations.”

I will not attempt here to justify or condemn the United States' role in the Iraq War: it is another debate for another time.

War is always a terrible plague to be avoided, and it is far too easy for us in the present to look back now on the war and pass judgment.

Changes to language house locations highlight campus dorm deficiencies selves have the opportunity to live comfortably, too? Also, who can argue with increasing diversity on campus by expanding the definition of a student whom the College can accommodate?

As a sophomore now, though, as I try to figure out where I want to live next year, I do have some more sympathy for their side of the argument. Scrolling through the list of dorms, I immediately struggled to find many dorms that have not had mold issues, flooding issues or a strange, inexplicable bee problem. The latest housing news is that about half of both Hardy Hall and Landrum Hall’s rooms are reserved for language houses and the Africana house.

Right now, those language and culture houses are located in the Randolph Complex, which is not only known for its mold issues and general unappealing appearance, but also is FLAT HAT OPINIONS ASSOC. EDITOR not accessible with elevators. Due to this, many students who want to immerse themselves in that type of living physically Let’s discuss everyone’s favorite topic on campus, based on cannot have that experience. Also, due to the poor condition how much they talk about it: housing. of those dorms, many students who could potentially be a part Now, I’m not innocent of this by any means. I have written of those programs run away from any idea of it, trying to avoid multiple articles about housing, on subjects including Jefferson living in that environment. So, of course, it makes sense that the Hall’s conversion from a freshmen dorm to an upperclassmen College would want to relocate this type of housing to a much dorm, the recent flood in said building and the ever-present bug more desirable and accessible location, as well as to expand the issue across campus dorms. It’s not that I have an obsession language programs. with housing, and I don’t think that the rest of the student body As I’m sure you can tell, this becomes a very complex here at the College of William and Mary has this addiction conversation without a clear, correct decision. It’s not right to either. The reason that I think we keep talking about housing limit students to where they can live due to ability, but it also issues is because of how seemingly is not right to limit all of impossible it is for either the students the appealing housing or for the College to come to a viable decisions and try to pretend solution. The administration is in some that all of these problematic deep trouble, simultaneously trying to dorms are worth our make dorms more accessible while also money. I don’t have an trying to keep the older dorms from answer as to how the falling apart at the seams. It’s not as if College should miraculously they can take a year-long hiatus and try complete all of these to fix everything at once. projects, or even an answer The big topic on campus right as to how to prioritize these now is the changes to who can live in issues, but I do think that Hardy Hall and Landrum Hall next everyone should come to year. As two of the nicest dorms on terms with the fact that campus, they are high up on everyone’s housing is not going to be list. However, as two of the most perfect here for a while. Any updated dorms, they are also the most decision that Residence Life accessible. This means that dorms makes always seems to be like these keep becoming more and the incorrect one, but that’s more difficult to live in because the because there are so many College keeps finding other uses for issues at hand that someone them. For example, last year, Lemon will always be disappointed.

Hall, Hardy Hall’s mirror, was changed At the same time, though, GRAPHIC AND HEADSHOTS BY KAYLA PAYNE / THE FLAT HAT from an upperclassman dorm into a I wish that the College freshman dorm in order to provide would hire more reliable more freshmen with housing to suit their needs. This was great construction companies to renovate these dorms in order to because now freshmen had more options and did not have to be complete quicker jobs over the summers and solve these issues plagued with housing that could not accommodate them, but it in a more timely fashion. One reason that these dorms are also meant that housing for upperclassmen was more limited, rarely renovated is likely because they cannot guarantee that the and everyone’s favorite dorm was now unavailable. dorms will be ready for classes to start at the end of August.

I always thought that this was a small price to pay to be able I hope, for everyone’s sake, that this is the last article that to house freshmen who might otherwise not be able to study I have to write for a while about housing. But, knowing the here at the College. Why should upperclassmen who have other College, I won’t hold my breath. nice options complain about losing one dorm? They cry for Email Alyssa Slovin at accessible housing for themselves; why shouldn’t their younger amslovin@email.wm.edu.

Alyssa Slovin

GUEST COLUMN

Rowing fosters attention to detail, hard work Ben Christenson FLAT HAT GUEST WRITER

I will not attempt here to justify or condemn the United States’ role in the Iraq War: it is another debate for another time.

War is always a terrible plague to be avoided, and it is far too easy for us in the present to look back now on the war and pass judgment. Nevertheless, it must be noted that, as the secretary of defense, Gates inherited oversight of the Iraq War from his predecessor. Had Gates chosen to completely ignore the war, he would have been abdicating his oath to faithfully discharge the duties of the office.

It is also worth noting that the withdrawal of troops from Iraq began under Gates’ watch, even as he transitioned between serving two presidential administrations.

In any case, Gates is certainly not immune to any criticism of the actions taken during his time as secretary of defense.

However, I am a firm believer in the power of protests to spark or inspire change in one’s actions or society, and it is for this particular reason that I found myself confused by the student protests against Gates.

Seeing how Gates is limited by a linear understanding of time in being able to change his actions during the Iraq War, what was it that the students were hoping to accomplish? Was it the student group’s intent only to shame Gates for serving as the secretary of defense, a role which in his personal memoir he reveals that he did not enjoy? Was it the student group’s intention to protest Gates’ mere presence at the event and dismiss him for sharing his knowledge on a subject in which he is eminently qualified? Or, was it the student group’s intentions to simply inform the community about Gates, which anyone who was unfamiliar with the man could resolve with a simple Google search on his or her smartphone?

My advice for any peaceful protestors is to make your intentions clear to your audience. As we can see from our current political discourse, shouting and name calling completely destroys the civility that is necessary for communication and discourages others with competing points of view.

On the contrary, as we can see from history, it is the passionate, eloquent and focused calls for change that speak the most volumes and turn the tides for many.

Email Lucas Harsche at lmharsche@email.wm.edu.

At the College of William and Mary, we tell people when they arrive, “You belong here.” It’s a bold claim. All that makes us “One Tribe” is that we chose the same college. We don’t all share certain traits or interests. We don’t have a sports team that we all follow. About the only thing you can count on sharing with other students is a sense of stress and overcommitment.

Saying, “You belong here” doesn’t make it so. I think we sense that, so we try to join as many groups and activities as we can, hoping that busyness will cure loneliness. I, almost by accident, joined the Club Rowing team last year. I found that loneliness is best fought with depth and not breadth. I’m now part of a group where I’m known personally, and group membership means something.

We’ve suffered together.

“Rowing is suffering.” This is a common refrain of our coach. More than that, it’s a serious time commitment. Entering college, neither of these seemed appealing. There’s an appeal to saying “No” to 90 percent of your commitments every weekend.

However, I think the freedom these casual clubs offer is overrated. Yes, rowing is difficult and time-consuming, but only on a team with real accountability and goals can you

accomplish something meaningful. The very freedom that allows you to miss meetings with no consequence resigns your club — whatever that club may be — to mediocrity.

That’s not a put-down, but achievement requires buy-in.

More than pushing mental and physical endurance, rowing tests your character unlike any other sport I’ve played. As my coach often says, “It’s the ultimate team sport.” This may seem a little dramatic, but I think he’s right. In other sports, a superstar can transcend his teammates. Steph Curry is a great shooter, even playing with four children. In rowing, for each stroke — which is about every two seconds — every rower must be in perfect sync. The cliché, “You’re only as strong as your weakest link” is actually true here.

This creates the perfect recipe for selfrighteousness. See, every two seconds, you need to take a stroke. Yet, the boat is constantly changing. Maybe last stroke, someone in front of you leaned away and now the boat is down to that side. It’s not “set.” Or, maybe the person behind you is “rushing” and rowing at 22 strokes per minute while you’re determined to hold the rhythm at 18 strokes per minute. All this time, you’re on the water. Every slight mistake tilts the boat back and forth, making your job of rowing smoothly in sync more challenging.

This creates a remarkable phenomenon, at

least for me. Whenever I take a bad stroke (and when you do, all eight people can feel it), I tell myself, “Well, what else could I do? The boat’s not set, and I’m doing the best I can with a horrible situation.” Then, whenever my teammate takes a bad stroke, I think, “Get it together; you’re ruining our rhythm and set.”

Most team sports have a binary success metric. Did the shot go in? Was the pass caught? Rowing is about inches.

At the 2016 Olympics, the men’s single scull was decided by five thousandths of a second. With margins that tight, the slightest move matters. Every stroke, I can take responsibility to set the boat, roll up smoothly and powerfully push no matter what’s going on around me. Those few improvements that I can control matter. Or, I can blame my teammates for rushing or creating an unset boat. What’s the point in pushing hard before the boat’s well-prepared for my power?

I’m glad I’ve found rowing in college.

It didn’t take anything to join besides a willingness to work. In it, I’ve found my “tribe,” the place at this school where I do belong. And, I’ve grown up a bit. People talk about making friends and maturing in college. Wanting that doesn’t just make it happen. For me, at least, it took rowing.

Email Ben Christenson at bchristenson@email.wm.edu.

GRAPHIC BY JORGE CONDA / THE FLAT HAT

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Variety Editor Zoe Beardsley Variety Editor Adithi Ramakrishnan flathat.variety@gmail.com

The Flat Hat | Tuesday, February 18, 2020 | Page 7

Drag queens grace kick, flip, dance, death-drop while challenging gender norms during Student Assembly-sponsored "I am W&M Week" ASHANTI JONES // THE FLAT HAT

hu rs day, Feb. 13, Sa d l er Center ’s Co mmonw ea l t h Aud itor ium t ransfor me d i nto a n ext ravaga nt d rag show fille d w ith h ig h kicks, f l ip s a nd d eat h-d rops co- h oste d by l o ca l Wi l l ia msburg d rag q ue ens No el ia B e lla and Sa n d ra O na ssi s L op ez . The d rag ba l l wa s sp ons ore d by th e Stu d e nt Ass emb ly a s one of t he initiative s fo r th e 2 0 2 0 “ I a m W&M” w e ek, a w e ek of fe stivitie s d e sig n e d to h ighl ight a nd c el eb rate va r i ous areas of d i ve rsi t y o n campus.

C e l e s t e C h a l k l e y ‘ 2 1 , St u d e n t A s s e m b l y s e c re t a r y o f D i v e r s i t y I n i t i a t i v e s, s h a re d s o m e i n s i g h t i n t o S t u d e n t A s s e m b l y ’s v i s i o n f o r t h i s y e a r ’s “ I a m W&M” week. “‘ I a m W & M’ w e ek is s omet hing t hat w e do e ve r y yea r to c e l eb rate d iversit y on ca mpus,” Chalkle y sa i d . “‘ I a m W & M’ w e ek is just sup p os e d to b e allen c o mpa ssi ng to just c el eb rate e ver yb o dy . We ch os e to d o i t a l o t ea rl ier t his yea r to g o of f of Char te r Day b e cau s e Cha r ter Day is sup p os e d to b e ab out Wi l l ia m a n d Ma r y a nd t his b eing our home. S o, w e t h ou g ht, w hy not have ‘ I a m W&M’ a nd our dive rs e p e rsp e c ti ve s a nd p ers ons on ca mpus b e par t of ou r ce l eb rat i o n o f Cha r ter Day.” Chalkley further explained how SA chose to sponsor a drag show for “I am W&M” week. “ We re a l l y w a n t e d t o h av e a f u n , u p l i f t i n g e v e n t t h a t w e k n e w p e o p l e w e re g o n n a c o m e o u t t o a n d e n j oy a n d w e t h o u g h t w h a t b e t t e r w a y t h a n t o h av e a d ra g s h o w ,” C h a l k l e y s a i d . “ I f e l t l i k e i t w o u l d b e a f u n e v e n t t h a t a l o t o f p e o p l e c o u l d re l a t e t o a n d f i n d c o m f o r t i n . A s y o u c a n s e e, w e h a d s o m e o f o u r v e r y o w n s t u d e n t s d re s s e d i n d ra g a n d I’ m s u re i t w a s l i b e ra t i n g t o b e a ro u n d a n d s e e p e o p l e j u s t b e i n g t h e m s e l v e s.”

No e l ia B e l la op ene d t he show by int ro ducing h e rs e l f a n d w e l c oming new c omers to t he drag w orld by cl u e i ng th em in on t w o v it a l r ul es f or a drag show . “ I a m No e l ia B el la, your l o ca l hot mess in a dre ss… an d th e re a re a c oup l e r ul es f or d rag show s, the first b e i ng that ap plaus e is f re e,” B el la sa id . “ The lou de r you a re, th e more exc ite d t he enter t a iners are for

T

to day . S e cond r u le, if you have a do lla r f e e l f re e to h old it up and make the g irls h olle r, h o n e y.”

B e lla follow e d this w e lcome w ith a D i sn e y- e s qu e e vil que e n p e r for mance to “ Vanit y ” by Ch r i sti na Aguile ra, comple te w ith mag ic mir ro r a n d p o i s o n e d apple in tow .

Ne xt, Virg inia B each drag que e n Sa n d ra O na ssi s L op ez t w irle d on stag e in a flow y pin k m i n i d re ss to Sigala and E lla Ey re’s “Came He re Fo r L ove.” In th e midst of h e r p e r for mance, L op ez re m ove d h e r dre ss to re veal a b e dazz le d pink le o ta rd that e xci te d re s ou nding applau s e from th e audien ce.

Sylvia Ste rling, w h o w on th e “ Me rce d e s D rag Race” in Virg inia B each, p e r for me d i n a spa rk li ng blu e le otard fitte d w ith ‘ 80s inspire d sp i ke d s h ou ld e r pads to cur re nt Billb oard Top 100 s o ng “ D o n ’t Sta r t Now ” by Dua L ipa. Ste rling live d up to h e r a ccla i m by ju mping off the Commonw ealth stag e i nto a p e r f e ct split w h ile p e r for ming.

After wards, a rendition of Ke$ha’s “ Take It Off ” performed by drag queen L ea Bra elicited cheers from the crowd as she shed layers to show a black leather leotard paired with a fier y red corset. Later in her performance, she riled the audience up even more by snatching her wig off and tossing it in the air.

Gina Je tt th e n de live re d a sultr y ro ck nu mb e r o f “ D o Not Disturb” by Hale stor m, thr i lli ng th e crow d w ith h e r flips and kicks.

C losing the first s e ction of the show, Baby Ang e l w ow e d the crow d w ith h e r impre ssive d eath - d ro p s to Mile y Cy r us’ “Can’ t B e Tame d.”

Opening the second section of the show, Noelia Bella invited fellow drag queen Sandra Onassis Lopez to get some crowd participation, and gathered five audience members on stage for a lips y n c b a t t l e i n t r u e R u Pa u l f a s h i o n . T h e p a r t i c i p a n t s duked it out to a variety of tunes ranging from the 2 0 0 0 s b o p “ Fe r g a l i c i o u s” b y Fe r g i e , t o n e w u p a n d c o m i n g r a p p e r B l u e f a c e ’s “ T h o t i a n a”. T h e w i n n e r was chosen by most applause from the audience.

C h r i s E l i a d e s ‘ 2 3 , a l s o k n o w n a s D a y a B . Te a s e , w a s c r o w n e d t h e w i n n e r.

Fo llow i ng th e li p -syn c battle, th e qu e e n s re tu r n e d o n stag e f o r rou n d t w o o f p e r f o r ma n ce s. C row d f avo r i te s i n clu d e d Sa n d ra O na ssi s L o p ez ’s b eau ti f u l re n d i ti o n o f “ Big Gi rls D o n ’t C r y” by Fe rg i e, No e lia B e lla’s ca r n i va l i n sp i re d rou ti n e to Sa lt- N- Pe pa’s “ I Am B o dy B eau ti f u l” a n d Sag e Ang e l’s e cce ntr i c p e r f o r ma n ce o f “ Ig n o ra n ce” by Pa ra m o re.

L i p -syn c battle w i n n e r E lia d e s s h ow e d e xci te m e nt at th e a ck n owle dg e m e nt o f d i f f e re nt a sp e cts o f LG BTQ+ li f e b e i ng ce lebrate d o n ca mpu s th rou g h th e d rag s h ow i n su ch a n o p e n a n d d i ve rs e way. “ I f e e l li ke havi ng d rag o n ca mpu s m ea n s w e’re b e i ng a lo t m o re o p e n a n d a cce p ti ng o f th e LG BTQ+ co m mu n i t y,” E lia d e s sa i d . “ Th e re i s a lo t m o re tha n ju st gay, le sbia n , bi s e xu a l; i t ’s a wh o le sp e ctr u m.

We f i na lly g e t to have d i f f e re nt qu e e r re p re s e ntati o n that w e u su a lly w ou ld n o t g e t to have a n d i t ’s g rou n d brea ki ng a n d s o e xci ti ng.”

E lia d e s a ls o re ma rke d ab ou t h ow d rag i s n o t si mp ly ju st d re ssi ng u p, bu t a g rou n d brea ki ng f o r m o f i n d i vi d u a li t y that brea ks g e n d e r n o r m s a n d s h ow ca s e s th e va st sp e ctr u m o f LG BTQ+ li f e.

“Drag means the pushing of gender norms and boundaries in order to become the most pronounced form of self-expression," Eliades said. "You see a lot of people dressed up for different events and say, ‘I’m expressing myself,’ but we’re blending the gender line too. It’s a lot more difficult for us because I have five layers of glue on my eyebrows, a wig on my head and my waist snatched. It shows that we are fully capable of showing freedom and self-expression that people would not typically think of doing.”

Gi na Je tt, a p ro f e ssi o na l d rag p e r f o r m e r o f th re e yea rs, s ha re d a si m i la r s e nti m e nt to E lia d e s i n h ow d rag a llows f o r i n d i vi d u a ls to brea k f re e o f s o ci e ta l g e n d e r co n str u cts a n d have m o re f re e d o m o f e x p re ssi o n a n d s e lf.

“Drag is gender f—ing,” said Gina Jett. “But it’s kind of like today drag is saying ‘f—you’ to gender constructs, binaries and social gender roles and basically breaking those walls down and allowing people to express their gender fluidly and more authentically.”

SYDNEY MCCOURT / THE FLAT HAT

The Flat Hat

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Page 8

COURTESY PHOTOS / ELLA BENBOW

Row, row, row your boat College’s crew team reflects on experiences, explores camaraderie on the water DAISY GARNER // FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER Early morning practices, doing odd jobs for Williamsburg residents and fostering lifelong friendships are all familiar to the College of William and Mary’s rowing club members. Rowing team members Samuel Mosquera ‘21, Ella Benbow ‘21 and Abby Watts ‘20 sat down and shared their unique experiences and insights to the rowing team.

The rowing team, commonly known as crew, recently competed at their biggest race of the fall, the Head of the Hooch. The competition took place in Chattanooga, Tennessee with over 25 boats representing colleges around the country competing in each race.

The varsity men’s team won first place in the lightweight four and second place in the lightweight eight.

Although the women’s varsity team did not receive medals at the Head of the Hooch, they placed in the top half for all of their events.

The novice women lightweight four placed in the top three.

“Those are pretty impressive numbers anyways, considering like 25 or 30 boats will be in that race,” Watts said.

Teams would normally have to enter a lottery process to become eligible to compete at the Head of the Hooch, but the high scores that the crew team received mean that they have an automatic bid to compete next year.

However, the crew teams’ successes don’t come easily: crew members are known to have early morning practices where they typically wake up at around five in the morning. When asked about how they handle these hours, Watts, Benbow and Mosquera had a simple answer: naps.

“I’m about to go nap,” Benbow said.

Mosquera commented on how he admires this level of dedication from his fellow teammates.

“On the varsity guys side, we have like nine practice a week …

Everyone is like fully involved with this, and really wants to be dedicated to it, and so just kind of that culture is different I think, and really cool,” Mosquera said.

However, the flexibility that crew offers is what Watts finds makes it stand out from other sports.

“I think with rowing there is a certain level of commitment that you expect out of your teammates, but at the same time, this team has been really understanding and accommodating for people who want to make it kind of like, you get what you put into it,” Watts said.

“There are some people who will show up to every practice without a doubt, and there are some people who are like, ‘okay, I really like rowing, but this semester, I am really busy, so I think I am going to

PENNE FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

only come to two to three practices a week.’ So, it can really be like whatever you want it to be, and I also think that’s also really cool, that you wouldn’t normally get in a D1 program.”

In order to raise money to pay their dues for the semester, crew has a program called “Rent-A-Rower” which allows crew members to do work for local residents. These activities can range from tutoring to helping people move and even doing yard work.

Watts, Benbow and Mosquera reflected on the odd jobs they have done through the Rent-A-Rower program, which has allowed them to gain random but unique experiences.

Watts, who also is the head of fundraising, commented on the most interesting “Rent-A-Rower” job she is running at the moment.

“Coolest project definitely right now, I am moving Thomas Jefferson out of his house in Colonial Williamsburg, and moving his things to Monticello,” Watts said. “Bill Barker, who plays the National Builder Thomas Jefferson, was like, ‘hi, um— I have a pretty big project. Are you guys going to be here through December?’ I was like, ‘Oh yeah, we’ll get it done.’”

Mosquera reflected on how the “Rent-A-Rower” program put him in unfamiliar situations.

“Got experience trimming hedge with ‘Rent-A-Rower’, like, oh, just put you in situations where they’re like ‘you know how to do this?’ Not really, but I guess I can figure it out.” Mosquera said.

The Rent-A-Rower program offers opportunities for team members to interact with members of the community at large.

“You never know who you are going to meet, and who you end up having connections with,” Watts said.

These connections include alumni in the community.

“Diane — I don’t remember her last name — but I did a bunch of work for her right at the beginning of the semester, and she like, went to William and Mary, lived in Ludwell, graduated in like 1965 ... and is still super active with the school. And just being able to talk to her and how it has changed throughout the years — kind of her take on new president, new athletic director — was a big topic,” Watts said. “We talked about Joan of Arc for like two hours. We are only supposed to do the work for an hour, and then she ended up just like having us — she made us brownies. She is super nice. It’s actually been really great getting to know people in the community.”

Something that the trio also found unique about crew is the relationship between athletes and coaches. Since crew’s student executive board hires the coaches, crew members have a say in who coaches them.

“It means that we work really closely with the coaches, and there is sort of a mutual level of respect because we chose them for a reason, to do their job, but also they will like ask us for our input,” Benbow said.

Mosquera noted how the relationship between coaches and athletes on the team cultivates a sense of cooperation.

“I think that also kind of sets up a good relationship where kind of like the way the athletes get to decide how they want the club to look, it never comes from the coaches,” Mosquera said. “Each squad has a meeting with the coaches, we call it a ‘goals and standards’ meeting, and the squad says this is what we want to do, this is how we are going to do it. And then the coaches say ‘okay, we are going to do that.’ It is a good relationship that I think where you are never feeling like you are forced to do something.”

Watts, Benbow and Mosquera also reflected on the friendship aspect of being on crew. The crew team has a program called Boat Buddies, which involves pairing a varsity member with a novice member to foster a connection between the varsity and novice teams.

Mosquera found that participating in Boat Buddies enhanced his freshman experience.

“It is just like a good way of getting to know people on the team and like kind of builds that connection so that novices have someone that they know will be like their friend,” Mosquera said. “Which is kind of cool as a freshman, that opens up new connections on the varsity side, which is something that I really liked my freshman year, was just like, having upperclassmen friends. I was like, ‘oh man, I’m the coolest person around! All of these seniors want to talk to me — that’s so cool.’”

Benbow finds that friendships between crew members also extend far beyond practice.

“I think like, what goes along with that, having so many practices, we are really close, which is just like a cool community,” Benbow said. “I think that something that is especially appealing to freshman and new members is like if you see a rower, they are going to wave enthusiastically at you across Sadler.”

According to Benbow, it is never too late to become a crew member.

“Anyone can start rowing at any time ... Anyone should feel free to reach out to us at any time because there is literally no time where it is too late to start learning.” Benbow said. “You can learn, it’ll be great, you’ll get into the best shape you’ve been in in your life and make lifelong friends.”

Exploring the pasta-bilities

Bringing Florentine cuisine to Williamsburg, adapting spaghetti carbonara to dietary restrictions CLAIRE HOGAN // FLAT HAT ONLINE EDITOR Over the summer, I studied abroad in Florence, Italy, where I truly fell in love with spaghetti carbonara. I know, I know, everyone comes back from their study abroad experience obsessed with the food, the language, the culture, blah blah blah. But you have to admit: the Italians know how to make delicious meals.

My love of Italian food is complicated slightly by my terrible digestive system — a product of Crohn’s disease — which severely limits my ability to eat any grains, especially wheat.

bacon and cheese (mmm, yummy).

While you’re waiting for the water to boil, mix together the eggs, egg yolks and cheese. I used two types of parmesan, but you can substitute with your favorite hard cheese, if you like. Then add a generous amount of black pepper and a slightly less generous amount of salt.

Now it’s time to cook the bacon pieces. Once you’ve sliced them into small squares, add them to a nonstick skillet and cook until golden brown.

If I want to eat pasta without dire gastrointestinal consequences, I have to resort to my favorite grain substitute: beans. These days, you can find bean rotini, bean macaroni and even bean spaghetti. For this recipe, I’m using chickpea spaghetti, but you can substitute with your favorite gluten-free pasta (or, for all of you with stronger guts, just use normal noodles).

To start off, set a large pot of water to boil.

Sprinkle some salt into the water, but not too much, or you’ll get a big dose of salt from the

If you’re like me, you should cook extra, because you’ll end up eating half of it before it even goes in the pasta.

At this point, someone will have inevitably come into the dorm kitchen in which you are working. If you are like me and are required to take photos of your cooking, you will seem like a total idiot to this other person. No matter; soon, you will have delicious pasta.

Once the water has boiled, add your pasta and cook until slightly less than al dente — if it feels just a little too hard, that’s perfect. If

you’re using bean pasta, this takes about eight minutes, and the noodles will produce a lot of foam. Don’t worry, because this is totally normal for legumes. It’ll drain off when you dump the pasta water.

When the pasta is done, drain most of the water, but save a small amount. It’ll help the sauce come together. Add the egg and cheese mixture and the bacon. If you’re like me and really only have two dishes, just mix it all together in the pot you used to cook the pasta.

CLAIRE HOGAN / THE FLAT HAT

Now all that’s left is to plate it. In Italy, I saw chefs take a delicate forkful of pasta, twirl it into a spiral on a plate and garnish with black pepper. My attempts were not nearly as elegant, but I tried my best. I think the plastic plate from Target really accentuates my cooking prowess.

Spaghetti carbonara is a deliciously creamy and savory dish. Take your time to enjoy it and relish your accomplishment. Oh, and fair warning, don’t eat too much, because bean pasta makes you extremely gassy.

INGREDIENTS : • Salt • 2 large eggs and 2 large yolks, room temperature • 1 oz grated pecorino Romano • 1 oz grated Parmesan • Black pepper • 3 ½ ounces of bacon, sliced into pieces • 12 ounces spaghetti (about 3/4 box)

sportsinside

The Flat Hat | Tuesday, February 18, 2020 | Page 9

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Tribe retains winning record, goes 1-1 in Iowa Team falls 5-2 to Iowa State, rebounds over Georgia State 4-1behind two doubles wins LEXIE HIESTAND FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER Feb. 14, William and Mary (3-2) travelled to Des Moines, Iowa to take on Iowa State (5-2). Both the Tribe and the Cyclones were coming off of losses, but the Tribe ultimately extended its losing streak with a 5-2 defeat. The two Tribe points came from a double’s victory and one singles win. Throughout the entire game, the Tribe picked up six sets while the Cyclones took 11.

Freshman Ella Van Meerteren won all of her matches against the Cyclones, helping the Tribe account for both of its points.

Thus far, Van Meerteren has won all of her singles matches for this tennis season and continued that streak against the Cyclones. She has only dropped one doubles match of the season with partner senior Charlotte Madson.

Van Meerteren’s match was key to clinching the doubles point. The second pair of senior Rosie Cheng and freshman Raffaela Alhach dropped their first game, 6-1. Then, Madson and Van Meerteren defeated their opponents with a 6-4 win, tying the doubles score and allowing the first pair to decide the point. The first pair game was long, and the match was settled in a tiebreaker. Tribe teammates junior Vitoria Okuyama and sophomore Mila Saric rallied to defeat the Cyclone first pair, 7-6.

In the singles portion of the match, Van Meerteren quickly polished off her opponent with a 6-2, 6-1 win. Her victory marked the end of the Tribe’s points for the evening, as the Tribe lost the next five matches. Alhach was the first casualty, falling 6-4, 6-1. Madson, who played on line four, dropped her sets 6-4, 6-2.

Okuyama also did not win a game in the third position, dropping

both of her games 6-4.

The first two singles spots were tightly contested, with both the Cyclones and the Tribe taking games. The Tribe fought to take control of the three-setters. Cheng surged to a 6-3 lead in the first game but lost the next two. Saric took on Cyclone Thasaporn Naklo, her opponent from doubles, for a race in singles.

Naklo was ranked 72 in the US for singles and 51 for her pair with Christin Hseih. Even though Saric lost the first set, she powered back for a 6-4 win in the second set. In the final, deciding set, Saric lost 6-2.

The Tribe stayed in Iowa to take on Georgia State (2-4) at a neutral site the next day. While the Tribe had a double header, the Panthers had a week of rest and a win to come into the game.

The momentum from Iowa State served the Tribe well, and it defeated the Panthers 4-1.

The doubles match once again came down to a tiebreaker.

Saric and Okuyama dropped their set, 6-4, but Van Meerteren and Madson teamed up to send the deciding set to the second pair, winning their set 6-3.

Going into the game with the Panthers, the second pair had yet to win a match, but had been close on several occasions; this time, Cheng and Alhach defeated their opponents 7-6 in a grueling tiebreaker situation.

The Tribe’s young talent propelled the team to two back-toback wins in doubles. The freshmen stepped up in both their doubles and singles matches to win points for the Tribe.

Van Meerteren won a dual-match Feb. 14 while Alhach took hers Feb. 15. It was Alhach’s first dual-win match of her collegiate career. In singles, she won the first tiebreaker set 7-6 and sent her

JAMIE HOLT / THE FLAT HAT

Two senior-freshman pairs picked up doubles wins to take down Georgia State.

opponent Mara Pop packing with a 6-0 blitz to secure her point.

Okuyama also went to tiebreaker in her singles match but didn’t let Panther Angel Carney break into the scoring. She won her next set 6-3. Cheng played three sets in singles, coming out victorious. She won the first set 6-3 but dropped the next 2-6.

A 6-0 win gave the Tribe its fourth point of the night, stopping Saric and Madson’s games in their tracks.

Next weekend, the Tribe will start a two-game home stand.

Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. it will face East Carolina, who still has yet to play a home game.

BASEBALL

No. 21 Pirates sweep College 3-0 in opening weekend play

Tribe narrowly drops opener 2-1 behind six no-hit innings from Farrell, Raquet home run

COLLIN ANDERSON FLAT HAT ASSOC. SPORTS EDITOR Over the weekend at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina, William and Mary (0-3) suffered three consecutive losses to No. 21 ranked East Carolina (3-0), dropping its first three matchups of the season.

In the season opener Friday, Feb. 14, the Tribe dropped its first game of the season to

the Pirates by a score 2-1, despite an impressive performance during the game. Senior Chris Farrell pitched exceptionally well, not allowing a run throughout the six innings he pitched.

Neither team would score until the seventh inning, when the lone Tribe run came from a homerun by senior Brandon Raquet.

In the bottom half of the seventh, after taking Farrell out, the Tribe turned to sophomore Rojo Prarie, who got out of the inning, striking

JAMIE HOLT / THE FLAT HAT

The College forced extra innings in the first game of three but dropped the others due to early Pirate scoring runs.

out two Pirates in the process. With Prarie still in the game in the eighth inning, the Pirates capitalized on a few key mistakes and tied the score 1-1 on a sacrifice fly. As the game moved into extra innings with the score still tied, the College failed to put any runs on the board in the 10th or 11th innings. In both instances, the Tribe had players in scoring position but could not capitalize. Going into extra innings, the Pirates’ offense proved to be too tough for the Tribe to handle as the Pirates scored the game winner in the bottom of the 11th off of three straight hits. Junior Matt McDermott finished the game with three hits to go along with Farrell’s strong performance.

Saturday afternoon, the College again fell to East Carolina, this time by a score of 11-3. ECU scored early and often in the game, scoring six runs in the first four innings including five runs in the fourth inning alone. In the fifth inning, the damage continued to mount, with ECU building its commanding lead to nine. The Tribe was pretty quiet throughout the game and did not score until the ninth. McDermott scored the first of three runs to continue his strong start to the season. The following two runs scored on a single from junior David Hogarth and a sacrifice

fly from sophomore Hunter Hart. It was a little too late however, as the College could not overcome the massive deficit accumulated over the course of the game.

Sunday, Feb. 16, the Tribe suffered its third loss in a row, losing 7-4 to the Pirates. In the early stages of the game, ECU scored four runs in the first three innings, including three in the first inning alone.

The Tribe answered in the fourth and fifth innings with one run apiece, making the score 4-2. Sophomore Matt Thomas was crucial to the Tribe’s performance Sunday, recording two hits and two runs batted in. ECU continued to press, however, and scored three more runs in the sixth and seventh innings, which would prove to be enough for the victory.

The Tribe offense would not go away though, scoring two runs behind three straight hits and a walk to narrow the lead to three.

The Tribe found itself in a familiar position, scoring runs late, but once again could not muster a comeback.

Up next, the Tribe continues its trip through North Carolina, travelling to Durham to face the Duke Blue Devils Tuesday, Feb. 18. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.

MEN’S TENNIS

Tribe narrowly falls to Liberty at home for first loss despite two wins from Volk The College earns opening doubles point, but struggles in later singles matches to suffer 4-3 defeat LEXIE HIESTAND FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER Feb. 16, William and Mary (4-1) played its last home game against Liberty (5-3) before heading on a five-game road trip. After winning the doubles point, it dropped the match as a whole 4-3 after a contentious singles bout. This marks the third match the Flames have won after losing the doubles point and the second time the Flames have defeated the Tribe in as many years.

“It’s a very good team we played today,” senior Brenden Volk said.

“Definitely tough to leave with a loss, but I was very proud of our group.

Just very easy to keep motivated when everybody on your team’s doing exactly the same thing you’re doing.”

In doubles, Volk and his partner, freshman George Davis, finished off Flame tandem Nicaise Muamba and his partner on the first line. The Tribe dug itself into a two-game hole but ended up rallying for a 6-3 set.

Muamba led off with powerful serves that Volk and Davis found hard to counter.

However, once they got into a rhythm, Davis placed the ball to force

the Flames into a difficult formation, allowing Volk to spike the ball to a win. Davis’s serves were not aces, but caused enough mistakes to be devastating to returners.

Junior Finbar Talcott and sophomore Daniel Pellerito were in a heated match in the third position, trading games back and forth up until the end when the Tribe finally won the tiebreak 7-6. Talcott’s speed forced the Flames to react too quickly and counter with their handles instead of their nets. Pellerito never stopped hustling in back, saving many crosscourt shots. Their match clinched the doubles point for the Tribe.

The No. 2 pair’s match also went to a tiebreak, but sophomore Joseph Brailovsky and junior Ruo Chen didn’t have to finish their grueling fight. The match ended at 6-6, heading into the deciding game.

“We were ready to go. After a good doubles point we had all the momentum, and we tried to carry that as much as we can into singles,” Volk said. “We were ready to go before the match started, and just tried to take it from there.”

Volk was one of two singles wins. He played the No. 4 spot against Flames

Goncalo Ferreira. In his first set, he quickly took a 4-0 lead, and ultimately won 6-3. He attacked with torque and power, alternating between the two to keep Ferreira guessing. In the match point, he dropped a ball just over the net out of reach of his opponent and that dribbler sealed his second set 6-3.

Davis played No. 5 on the court next to his partner. His first set went to tiebreak, where a contentious call killed Davis’s momentum, and he lost the set 7-6.

The Flames’ Rafael Marques Da Silva came into the next set with more energy before, and Davis couldn’t force him onto his back foot. All of his shots ended up being just slightly too short, and he dropped the second set in a 6-0 blitz.

“We had a good doubles point,” Davis said. “I think our energy was really good, but I don’t know if that carried into singles as much as it could have. I think we played well in singles. It was just really close, and it could have went either way.”

Once Davis dropped his set, the energy in the tennis center died. The next three matches culminated in hard, long losses.

“It’s important to stay positive

throughout the whole match, keep supporting your teammates,” Volk said. “It’s the only way to get through these really tough matches.”

The Tribe might have stayed positive, but the Flames also came to cheer and drowned out the usually boisterous Tribe.

Sturgill and Pellerito finished their match third. Pellerito played from a deficit almost the entire match but fought hard and refused to go down without a fight. The first set ended in a 7-5 Tribe loss.

Despite Pellerito’s high-speed playing style, Sturgill presented a spinning lob that proved hard to counter, and the Tribe lost 6-3.

Brailovsky also played a long match. He dropped both sets 6-3 to Muamba, but almost every game ended in a deuce break.

Both number ones were powerful, so instead of countering with his usually precise placement and trajectories, Brailovsky tried to respond with more power. Muamba was able to overpower him and steal the singles point.

At that point, the Tribe had two must-win games on the court. Both already had one win under their belts,

at least one of which went to 11 games.

Talcott relied on his fast serves to force lots of mistakes. He refused to enter the serve box for an easy spike.

His wild spins gave him quick points, but he faltered in longer volleys. He won his first set in a tiebreak 7-6 win but dropped the next two 6-3 and 6-4.

This loss sealed the Tribe’s defeat.

Quiros played on even though it was clear the Tribe had fallen. He won his first set 6-2 and maintained a twogame lead for most of the second set, even though he eventually lost 5-7. He used his entire body to return the ball, and he didn’t let close line calls get in his head. He rallied for a 7-5 win, outlasting his opponent.

“I think we’ve been playing really well at home,” Davis said. “I think we even played well today, just a few points here and there that decided it.”

The Tribe will travel for the first time this season to New Haven, Connecticut and face Yale Feb. 21.

Yale goes into the game with the Tribe on a three-game loss streak.

“Just got to take it one match at a time,” Volk said. “We’ve been doing very well as a team, and I have confidence in our group to rebound from this loss.”

sports

Sports Editor Gavin Aquin Hernandez flathatsports@gmail.com @FlatHatSports

The Flat Hat | Tuesday, February 18, 2020 | Page10

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Tribe bludgeons Blue Hens, 81-77 JAMIE HOLT/ THE FLAT HAT

Junior forward Nathan Knight finished a contested layup over Hofstra’s defender. Knight scored 33 for the Tribe, moving into second place in the all-time scoring list while leading them to victory over a tough Colonial Athletic Association opponent.

Four players from the College contribute double figures, Tribe moves into second in CAA COLLIN ANDERSON FLAT HAT SPORTS ASSOC. EDITOR Saturday, Feb. 15, as a roaring student section and raucous crowd cheered on, an impressive shooting game helped William and Mary (1810, 10-5 CAA) top the Delaware Blue Hens (19-7, 9-4 CAA) 81-77 inside Kaplan Arena during the Gold Rush game. The win vaulted the Tribe into second place in the Colonial Athletic Association with just three regular season games remaining.

Entering Saturday’s game, the Tribe sat in third place in the conference after a crucial win inside Kaplan Arena just two nights before against the Drexel Dragons. The Blue Hens, led by star junior Nate Darling, came into the game riding a seven-game win streak and sitting in second place in the CAA, one spot ahead of the Tribe. The last time these two teams faced off in Newark, the Tribe dominated on both ends of the floor to win 77-68, with senior guard Nathan Knight leading the Tribe with 25 points and 14 rebounds. The game Saturday marked the Tribe’s sixth annual Gold Rush game, as the first 1,250 fans were greeted with a free gold T-shirt at the gate.

Knight opened the game’s scoring with a right-hand hook shot after a monstrous block from senior Andy Van Vliet on the other end of the court.

After a free throw from Knight to put the Tribe up by three, Darling drilled a three on the other end to tie the game. Darling opened the game scoring the first 12 points for the Blue Hens. At the first media timeout, the score was knotted at 12 with 14 minutes and nine seconds remaining in the half.

With 11:52 remaining, Delaware led 20-16, but Knight returned from the bench and provided a huge boost for the Tribe, including a putback dunk to ignite the crowd. Darling continued to dominate on the offensive end for the Blue Hens, scoring 16 points and not missing a shot in the first 11 minutes. After a controversial call gave Knight his second foul of the game and sent him to the bench, it was up to the Tribe’s role players to pick up the slack while Darling continued his reign of terror on the Tribe defense.

At the half, Delaware led the Tribe 43-36. Darling was the story of the first half, scoring 25 points on seven of 11 shooting, connecting on four of six from beyond the arc and hitting all seven of his free throw attempts.

The Tribe outshot Delaware in the first half, connecting on 55 percent of its shots while the Blue Hens made 50 percent. Foul trouble doomed the

Tribe, with four players recording two or more personal fouls in the opening 20 minutes. Of the first half, head coach Dane Fischer commented on his team’s struggles, believing the team lost a bit of focus during the half.

“I thought in the first half we got a little bit rattled,” Fischer said. “I think the calls bothered us a little bit and we lost a little bit of focus there.”

At halftime, the Tribe recognized former standout Marcus Thornton ’15 by retiring his number three jersey into the rafters of Kaplan. As a member of the men’s basketball team from 2011-2015, Thornton was a force to be reckoned with and is widely recognized as one of the best players in school history. He finished his career as the highest scorer in the College’s school history, amassing 2,178 points. After Saturday, the number three will never be worn by another Tribe player.

Van Vliet opened the scoring for the Tribe in the second half and soon after, Knight began to take over the game. Behind the enthusiastic home crowd, the Tribe cut into the Blue Hens’ lead, as Barnes raced down the court on a fast break with 16:39 left and converted the layup to cut the lead to one. Just before the media timeout, Knight was fouled hard underneath the basket. Unhappy with the call, Mutts registered a technical foul, giving him four on the afternoon. Knight made three of four from the free throw line to take the lead for the College, 45-43. The second media timeout of the half capped a 15-2 run for the College. With Knight on the bench with three fouls, Delaware stopped the bleeding to cut into the Tribe’s lead, tying the game on a three-point play from Colin Goss with 12:05 left in the game.

Just over halfway into the second half, Delaware’s Kevin Anderson knocked down a tough shot in the lane to extend the lead to four, 57-53.

Goss pestered the Tribe down low on both ends scoring some tough baskets and playing stout defense on Knight. Darling was much quieter in the second half, scoring just two points in the opening 10 minutes. The energy on the court was extremely tense, both teams not giving any easy possessions. With 7:32 remaining, Barnes swung a pass over to Knight who buried the ensuing shot, cutting the lead to three points.

A few possessions later, graduate guard Tyler Hamilton followed with a rare three pointer, which sent the decibel level inside Kaplan off the chart.

“Ty does a lot of things that don’t show up in the box score. sophomore center Quinn Blair said. “For him to step up and hit that shot in such a big moment and get a little bit of recognition that he really deserves, that’s awesome for him.”

After Knight pushed his point total to 30 with a contested layup, Delaware coach Martin Inglesby called timeout as the College took a sixpoint lead. After the timeout, Knight rebounded Blair’s miss and made the ensuing basket to give him 33 points on the afternoon. Another loose ball with just over three minutes left in the game caused trouble for the Tribe as Luke Loewe was assessed the game’s second technical foul. Darling hit the ensuing free throws as did Anderson, shrinking the Tribe lead to three.

On the next possession though, Blair made a clutch bucket underneath to stretch the lead and Hamilton blocked the Delaware shot attempt, continuing his run of strong defense.

With 1:45 remaining, the Tribe led the Blue Hens by a score of 74-69 as both Darling and Knight had 33 points to lead their respective teams.

Delaware guard Ryan Allen continued to hit big shots, cutting the lead back to four with just over one-minute remaining. Blair’s clutch free throws with 29.2 seconds remaining extended the lead to six and Fischer called timeout as victory loomed near. Delaware was not done, however, as Darling hit a big three pointer to add to his game-high point total. Van Vliet was fouled on the following possession and made one free throw to seal the deal. On the other end, the Blue Hens missed two threes in a row, as the final buzzer sounded.

The win vaults the Tribe past the Blue Hens in the CAA standings, as William and Mary picks up its 10th conference win on the season, and 18th overall. While turnovers plagued the Tribe for a second straight week, the College more than made up for it behind 33 points and 12 rebounds from Knight. His 33 points pushed him into second for the most points scored in school history. Knight is one of only three players in the country to average 20 points and 10 rebounds per game this season, and a Tribe player has not posted such numbers since 1968. As a team, the Tribe shot 60.7 percent in the second half and 58.2 percent overall. The 5,090 fans in attendance witnessed one of the best games of the season, with 12 ties and 12 lead changes throughout the contest.

After the game Knight said, “the win was huge, in an environment like this, it’s big for the community, our team, and the school itself.”

Up next, the Tribe heads on the road for two CAA contests against Towson at 7 p.m. and against James Madison Saturday afternoon in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The Tribe returns to Kaplan February 29 for the final home game of the season to take on Elon for Senior Day.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

College wins record fifth straight, defeats Pride 71-42

Tribe uses 19-point run in first quarter to take permanent lead, defense holds Hofstra under 50 ZOE BEARDSLEY FLAT HAT VARIETY EDITOR Sunday, Feb. 16, William and Mary (18-6, 9-4 CAA) soundly defeated Hofstra (3-21, 0-13 CAA) 71-42 at Kaplan Arena. The Tribe used a 19-point run at the start of the game to overpower the Pride and notch its fifth straight win.

Standout freshman guard Bre Bellamy started the scoring for the Tribe in the first quarter, hitting a jumper in the paint after a Hofstra turnover. It quickly became a landslide of baskets for the College and a nightmare for the Pride, who were unable to be effective on either side of the court. Senior forward Victoria Reynolds followed Bellamy’s basket with a layup, and sophomore guard Eva Hodgson soon joined in with a layup of her own.

Halfway through the first quarter the Tribe found itself with a 14-0 lead which would only grow throughout the rest of the game. Hofstra finally put points on the board with three minutes and 18 seconds remaining in the first half, but by that point it was already too late, as the Tribe had built a massive 19-2 lead. At the end of the first quarter, the Tribe was winning 27-4.

Hodgson spoke after the game about the fantastic start.

“Coach really challenged us in the locker room to come out completely different, Hodgson said. “And I think we took that personally.”

The second quarter saw less scoring from the Tribe, but after its monster first quarter it didn’t matter.

Bellamy continued her impressive play, making a jumper with 8:29 left in the quarter. Junior forward

quarters, the first quarter deficit was way too large to be overcome.

The Tribe finished the night shooting 50 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from the three-point line, along with seven made free throws. Bellamy finished with a career high 18 points, only missing one shot the entire game. In regard to her career night, the freshman was humble.

“I would say I felt good, but I would say it was more the whole team executing the offense and moving really well,” Bellamy said. “I think it’s all about finding the gaps, and if you do that, the scoring will come.”

Reynolds contributed 13 points and five assists in 21 minutes. Hodgson’s streak of 24 consecutive games scoring double digits was broken, as she scored just eight points in 19 minutes, but that only highlighted the dominance of the entire team. The Tribe also passed extremely well, notching assists on all but four of its 29 field goals.

JAMIE HOLT / THE FLAT HAT Aside from the blow-out win, Swanson was excited Junior center Gabby Rodgers inbounds the ball for the Tribe; Rodgers contributed four points and one assist in the win. about the crowd.

Bailey Eichner was one of seven players to contribute first two with junior guard Nyla Pollard hitting a three in “We had a great attendance today, over 1,000 people in the quarter, including an impressive layup after a the first 20 seconds. Bellamy continued to dominate the at our game,” Swanson said. “So that’s so exciting and I Hofstra turnover with 4:00 left. The Tribe would finish game, scoring a layup after the nice assist from Hodgson think our team really appreciates the support obviously, the second quarter leading 43-15, with only Bellamy with 7:39 left in the quarter, pushing the Tribe’s lead to from the student body that showed up.” hitting double digits with her 11 points. Bellamy did not 50-21. The third quarter was simply a continuation of With its fifth consecutive win, the Tribe has its best miss a shot the entire first half of the game, going four of the College’s dominant first half, as the Tribe went into record at this point in the season, both overall and in the four from the field and one of one from the three-point the fourth quarter with a 58-29 lead. conference since the 1993-94 season.The College’s next line. Hodgson and Reynolds each added eight points to Thanks to the Tribe’s massive lead, it was able to game is a crucial one against Drexel, who is currently cap off a dominant first half, where the College shot 17 use the last quarter for some experimentation. The first in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Tribe will of 27 from the field and added three three-pointers.

College would close out its win 71-42. Even though attempt to break Drexel’s 11-game win streak Feb. 21 at The third quarter started in a similar fashion to the Hofstra played the Tribe pretty evenly for the last three 7 p.m. in Pennsylvania.